1 – Where are you from and what is your daily routine at the moment?

I’m from Rosenallis but I’m doing my Leaving Cert in Clonaslee College. At the minute my daily routine is just school work and self-isolation.

2- What supports have your school provided for you and have they been useful?

We’re using an online school service, which is easy enough to use and there has been a lot of contact between students and teachers.

The work load is a lot and it can be hard to keep track of the assignments due, we have to do a good bit every day.

3 – Are you getting out for much exercise?

I’ve been getting out everyday, but it is hard to get the time, even if I can get out for 20 minutes to puck a ball, the break definitely helps.

4 – How do you feel about the decision to scrap the oral/practical elements of some subjects and give everyone 100% across the board?

I was gutted, I study Irish and French and felt prepared for the orals, I put a lot of work in and now it seems like wasted time. Oral work is some people’s strongest area, and now everything rests on the paper, which is tough especially when the marks were just handed to everyone.

In my opinion, if they were going to scrap the orals they should have scrapped the marks as well. Leave everyone with 0% going in and make the paper worth 100%. That way every mark is earned.

5 – Do you find it hard to motivate yourself to study for the exams as it is unclear if the exams will even go ahead as currently scheduled?

Definitely, the unknown is what’s making everything so hard.

If we had a definite timeframe and a secure date to work towards, I think motivation would come along with that.

6 – Are you able to interact with your friends? And if so, how are you doing this?

Yeah, we’re all in contact over social media, but it’s not the same as being together in a school environment.

Aside from all the stress, we have so much craic in school together and that’s definitely what I miss the most. It’s sad that we might not get a graduation or a yearbook.

7 – How do feel young people are being portrayed in the media at the moment? They are being blamed a lot for ignoring social distancing guidelines. Do you believe this is a fair criticism?

100% fair. Although I do think the message is sinking in now. When the schools closed, so many young people acted ignorantly and selfishly, thinking that they were somehow immune.

It was really frustrating to see that happen. But as the number of cases grow, more young people start to take things seriously.

8 – If the Coronavirus crisis continues and you can’t sit your exams in June, do you think they should be postponed or should exams be facilitated online?

Honestly, I don’t know what I want to happen, I don’t think any outcome will satisfy everyone. There are pros and cons to every situation. If they’re done online, cheating can’t be monitored.

If they’re postponed, the college process is effected. If we go off of past results, all the work we’ve done since the mocks doesn’t get taken into account. It’s tough, I don’t envy the people who have to make that call.